Sixteen (ON HOLD)

5.2 Still Alive

Kate slowly woke, and for a moment she forgot where she was. Her body ached, and her head was reeling with the shrill sound of a girl’s repetitive scream. She opened her eyes just a little and saw a well dressed man in a black suit, mopping the floor around her with a bright red liquid. His face was serene, as if he wasn’t bothered at all by the screaming. She watched the mop get submerged in a metal bucket, then out it came again, sloshing against the floor and smearing the red liquid around.

As her situation came more and more into focus, Kate realized the man wasn’t disturbed by the sound of the screams because he couldn’t hear them. They were meant only for her. It was Sadie’s screams Kate could hear in her head, and it was Sadie’s blood that drenched the floor.

Kate tried one more time to reach out to Sadie, using her thoughts. The screaming stopped abruptly and was replaced with a pitiful whimper. As difficult as it was to hear, Kate took it as a good sign, it meant Sadie heard her.

The large double doors in front of her swung open. The light from the hallway was sharper and the room flooded with it. Kate winced but through her half closed eyes she immediately recognized one of two shadowy figures as David Sellers.

“Daddy,” she croaked in a dehydrated voice.

David entered the room with the best intentions of holding up his end of the bargain with Briggs, the one in which he promised not to completely freak out when he saw what was going on inside the room. But what he saw, it couldn’t be real. It was the nightmare images of horror movies, not something you thought of seeing before you in real life.

There was his sweet little girl, strapped to a chair and covered in little electrodes hooked up to what looked like an old generator. Her hair was drenched in sweat, matted to her face in blond streaks. Her skin was pale and the light in her eyes was gone. She trembled when she saw him, maybe with relief, maybe out of fear, David wasn’t sure which and the not knowing made his stomach turn.

Behind her, another young girl, Katie’s friend Sadie, was laying on a metal table. She was also strapped down, but that wasn’t what made David lose it. The girl was torn open from head to foot, her skin pried open with metal clamps and pins. Her insides spilled out and dribbled blood onto the white floor, which a somber man in black silently mopped up. It looked like someone had opened her up and rummaged through her body, looking for something. Far worse, the girl turned her head towards David when he entered the room. She was still alive.

“What the hell? What the sam-bloody-hell are you doing in here?” David stepped towards the girl on the table, stopped to dry heave as the smell of blood overflowed his senses, and then lunged for the man with the mop. He grabbed hold of the mop handle, ripping it out of the man’s hands, and struck him square across the jaw with it. It was the only move he would make though as Briggs was right behind him, putting him into a choke hold before he knew what hit him.

“You broke your promise, David. No matter, I knew you’d have trouble keeping it.” Briggs tightened his grip on David, cutting off his airway. “Now, if I let you go, I need to know that you’re going to be calm. Can you be calm David?”

David managed half a nod as the room started go dark on him, it was enough for Briggs. Suddenly he was released and slid to the floor gasping and choking.

“She’s still alive, why is she still alive, you bastard?” David choked out the words and pointed at Sadie’s splayed-open body.

Briggs squatted down next to where David sat on his knees. “Because she’s a monster. Haven’t you been listing to anything I’ve said, tisk tisk David, I thought we were making progress.”

“If you bring a scalpel anywhere near my daughter I will end you, do you understand me?”

Briggs laughed; it was a cold unnerving sound. He swiftly, almost gracefully, rose to his feet. “You have ten minutes to talk to her David, make every one of them count.” He started towards the door then stopped, looking over his shoulder he added, “And whatever you do David, don’t hit the off switch.”

David looked at the generator, then up at Kate. She had her eyes closed, her breath rising and falling evenly as if asleep. The electricity was keeping her in that chair, not the binding, David realized. He stood up drug a chair from across the room over to where Kate sat. He sat in front of her, trying desperately to keep his emotions in check.

“Where is my daughter?” Kate opened her eyes slowly and turned them towards the sound of David’s voice, without moving her head.

“I am Kate. I am.” Her voice quivered.

David shook his head, ran his hands over his eyes. “No, no, no. You took her, and yea, you look like her, but you’re not Kate.”

“You’re right. I am someone else, but I’m still Kate. I know it’s hard for you to understand.”

“I want Kate back! Do you hear me, you, whatever you are; I want my little girl back!” David jumped up and put his hands on her shoulders, shaking her. The movement caused a rush of electricity through her body and the girl convulsed and shook under his grasp.

David let go and stepped back, sitting back down in his chair. “I’m sorry, I . . . I didn’t mean to.” His eyes filled with tears, watching her in pain. He was still torn, was she Kate, or wasn’t she. Just then it didn’t even matter, he just wanted to hold her and make this all go away.

“Kate isn’t gone, she’s here, with me.”

“And who are you? What are you?”

“My name is . . .,” she paused, searching for the word. It was getting harder and harder to remember. “my name is Alleyon. We didn’t mean to hurt anyone, we were in trouble. We needed help, I think. It’s getting hard to remember.”

“What do you mean? Hard to remember?”

“The longer I’m here, the harder it is to remember. I remember dresses and dancing, and a little boy named Kyle. But I can’t remember why I’m here, not entirely.”

David felt his heart skip. He leaned forward, careful not to touch the girl. “You remember Kyle? Kate’s little brother, you’ve never met him.”

“Kate has, and Kate and I are the same now. I am Alleyon and I am Kate. Do you see?” It was getting hard for her to stay awake. Her body had been through so much.

“And you’re getting weaker,” David whispered. “You’re getting weaker and Kate is getting stronger. I can still get her back.” He wanted to ask more questions, but she had fainted in her chair. Her head hung down, and she looked just like she had always looked to him. There was still hope. 

(Author's Note: So very sorry for the long time in between updates. As some of you know, I recently changed jobs and I have been really busy getting my new business off the ground. We are nearing the end here, believe it or not, and I will work on getting the last few updates out faster! If you have time, drop me a line to let me know what you think so far!)